Wagon loader and excavator



' Feb. 3, 1931. R. c. HAISS 1,790,810

- WAGONLOADER AND EXCAVATOR Filed April 5. 1929 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAYMOND G. HAISS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE HATSS MANUFACTUR- ING CO. INC, OF NEV YORK, N. Y A CORPORATION .OF NEW YORK WAGON LOADER AND EXOAVATOR This invention relates to machines of the general type described in United States reissued Patent No. 15,515, granted January 2, 1923, to George Haiss, for improvements 5 in wagon loaders. This type of wagon loader has the characteristic, among others, that it includes in combination with an inclined conveyor adapted to receive material at the lower end thereof, means for digging and feeding the material to the conveyor comprising a shaft extending transversely of said conveyor and projecting from each side thereof, a plurality of laterally disposed blades carried by said shaft at each side of a said conveyor and constituting materialpropelling means, the blades at one side of said conveyor having their faces'oppositely inclined to those of the blades on the opposite side of the conveyor, means for'rotating said shaft in such a direction that the blades carried thereby will exert upwardly directed impacts upon the material whereby the same is loosened and moved forwardly with respect to the conveyor and into its path so as to be collected and elevated thereby as the whole machine including the conveyor moves bodily toward and into the material to be handled.

The present invention relates particularly to improvements in the digging and feeding part of the machine described in the afore said patent. When operating on many kinds of material, for example loose gravel or sand, blades of the kind described in the aforesaid patent act efiiciently to dig and feed the ma- 53 terial toward the conveyor by which it is elevated. When, however, the machine of this patent is used for digging or excavating and handling firmly packed material such as hard soil or earth or road building material such as sand or gravel which has been united by frozen water, such blades are'subjected to excessive strains and wear. I

By the present invention, means are provided in combination with rotatable materialpropelling' means such "as'have heretofore been used, for assisting the material-propelling means by impacts imparted to the material additionally to any impacts which may be imparted by the material-propelling means, there y also greatly relieving the strains and wear imposed upon the material- I propellingmeans, and increasingthe effectiveness of the latter. Such'impact means may be otherwise termed digging elements and preferably are rotating picks which cooperate With the material-propellin means I and break up'material in advance 0 the operation of the 'material-propelling means along the path of movement of the picks, i. e., in the plane of rotations of said digging element. The digging elements are arranged in advance of the corresponding parts of the material-propelling means. A preferred con struction of these picks and a preferred manner in which they may be mounted in cooperative relation to propeller blades will be hereinafter described.

The invention will be understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pick-up end of a wagon loader and excavator embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of theparts shownin Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view, partly in section, of a combined propeller blade and pick, the replaceable point of which is shown as removed for the purposes. of illustration; Figure 4 is a sectional view of the pick taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, showing the manner in which the replaceable point is attached to the pick; and Figure 5 is an end elevation of a modified arrangement of propeller blades and picks.

Loaders of the'type above mentioned include a frame adjustably mounted upon a traction device (not shown) by which the well as for the bucket conveyor 11. This conveyorincludes a plurality of buckets 12 carried by a pair of chains 13 passing. over sprockets ofwhich the lower sprockets 142' only are shown, these lower sprockets being secured to a shaft 15 intermediate the ends thereof, and the shaft 15 being journaled at machine may be propelled from place to 16 in the lower end of the frame 10 and extending transversely of the machine. It will be understood that the driving connection between the power unit and the conveyor chains 13 which drive the shaft 15, is such that this shaft is rotated in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1.

Secured to the portions ofthe shaft 15 which extend from each side of the journal boxes 16, are a plurality of sets of propeller blades 18 and picks 1'9, the form of.

which will be apparent from the drawing, particularly Figure 3, from which it will be seen that each blade is secured to a pick, and both are secured to the shaft 15, by means of bolts 20 which pass through holes in flanges 21 and 22 extending from the hub portions 24 and 25 of the blades 18 and picks 19 will be understood. It will be noted that in the arrangement shown, the blades 18 on opposite sides of the conveyor are oppositely inclined or pitched so that, as the shaft 15 rotates, the blades will exert impacts upon the material and will feed it laterally toward the conveyor, as do the blades described in the aforesaidI-Iaiss reissued Patent No. 15,515.

It will also be noted that the picks 19 are so made that the points thereof are about 135 in advance of the leading corners of the corresponding blades. This is a particularly advantageous arrangement for the following reason among'others. If the corresponding paddles and picks were 90 or 180 or 27 0 apart, and the blades 90 apart, there would be in each rotation four positions of impact to each rotation of the propeller shaft 15, whereas, with the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, with each pick located 135 in advance. of its corresponding blade, there are eight positions of impact to each rotation of the propeller shaft. Thus the impacts are more evenly distributed throughout the rotation and this causes a very much more even distribution of effort and a smoother operation and furthermore with a lesser maximum power demand.

While, in the form of the invention illus trated in Figures 1 to 3, there are four blades per 360, it is of course obvious that the number of blades per 360 may be varied without departing from the invention. For example, there may be six blades per 360 and in this arrangement each pick point may advantageously be about 90 in advance of the leading corner of its blade. Such an arrangement is shown in Figure 5, fromwhich it will be evident that theimpacts upon the material are distributed30 apart throughout each rotation of the shaft, and there are twelve positions of impact during each rotation of the shaft.

Preferably the picks 19 extend radially a slight distance beyond the outer ends of the blades 18 so that the greater portion of the digging may be accomplished by the picks, leaving the blades to function primarily as propellers or material-propelling means for moving the loosened material toward and into the path of the conveyor buckets. Inasmuch as the picks 19 perform the major portion of the digging, their outer ends are subjected to heavy wear and in order to meet this condition the picks arepreferably provided with reversible and renewable pick points 28 of any suitable form. The pick points 28 shown in the drawing are all of a well-known type which have been used successfully on steam shovels, and their particular construction is no part of the present invention. As will be apparent from Figures 3 and 4, each pick point 28 is provided with a web 30 having anoblong pin-receiving opening 31. The web 30 is adapted to fitinto a slot 32 formed in the head 34 of the pick 19 and the pick point is held firmly attached to the head 34 by a wedge pin 35. As will be apparent from Figure 4, the wedge pin 35 is passed through elongated openings 36 in the head 34, and through the elongated opening 31 in the pick point 28. It will be understood that the pins 35 are easily inserted in the openings 36 and 31, and that as the pins are forced through these openings their v respective beveled faces engage the corresponding faces of the openings 36 and their straight or cylindrical portions engage the bottoms of the elongated openings 31 and coact therewith to draw the pick-points firmly into engagement with the face of the pick heads. After the pins are forced into position they are locked against displacement within the openings 31 and 36 by nuts 38 which are applied to the screw-threaded cylindrical ends which project through the openings 36. Formed integral with the heads 34 are outwardly projecting lugs or bosses 40 which overlie the nuts 38 in order to protect the same, together with the threaded end of the pins 35, as the ends of the picks 19 are forced through the material to be loaded. Regardless of whether the machine is em ployed in the handling of loose or compact material, the path of travel of the conveyor buckets is cleared by the buckets themselves, which, due to the provisionof digging teeth 42 on the forward edges there-of, can'he forced forwardly and upwardly through the material with comparative ease. The path which is cleared by the buckets provides room to receive the material which is moved inward from opposite sides of the conveyor by the propeller. blades as the machine advances toward and into the material to be loaded or excavated. i

.Not only do the picks rend-er the machine particularly eflicient in the handling of compact material in a pile, but they also enable the machine to be used as an excavator.

When the machine is so employed, the picks serve to break up the material by digging into it ahead of the propeller blades, thus breaking up the material so that it may more easily be acted upon by the propeller blades which move it toward and into the path of the conveyor buckets as the machine progresses along the path of excavation which is sufficiently wide to accommodate the usual traction mechanism by which the machine is propelled. It will be understood that the loosened material is moved slightly forwardly by the action of the propeller blades, and at the same time is fed toward and into the path of the conveyor buckets by which it is collected and elevated to the delivery end of the machine where it is directed, for example, into a motor truck which may follow the machine along the path of excavation as it is crowded into the material to be acted upon.

Although only certain forms of the invention are herein shown and described, it will be understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine of the character described comprising a conveyor having buckets adapted to receive material at the pick-up end of the conveyor and elevate it to the discharge end of the same, a plurality of rotatable dig ging elements disposed at opposite sides of said conveyor the pickup end thereof and adapted to impart forwardly and upwardly directed impacts to the material, and rotatable material-propelling means associated with said digging elements at opposite sides of said conveyor, the digging elements being arranged in advance of the corresponding parts of the material-propelling means in the planes of rotation of the digging elements. the material-propelling means atone side of said conveyor being oppositely inclined to the material-propelling means at the opposite side of said conveyor whereby the material acted upon at opposite sides of said conveyor by the digging elements is moved out of the path thereof and into the path of the conveyor buckets.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a conveyor having buckets adapted to receive material at the pick-up end of the conveyor and elevate it to the discharge end of the same, a rotatable shaft located at the pick-up end of said conveyor and projecting outwardly beyond opposite sides thereof, a plurality of digging elements carried by said shaft at opposite ends thereof and adapted to impart forwardly and up wardly directed impacts to the material, and material-propelling means associated with said shaft at opposite ends thereof and having parts adapted to operate upon material in the planes of rotation of the digging elements and at the rear of suchelements, the material-propelling means atone end of said shaft being oppositely inclined to the mate rial-propelling means at the opposite end of said shaft whereby the material acted upon by the digging elements is moved toward and into the path of the conveyor buckets.

3. A machine of the character described comprising a conveyor having buckets adapted to receive material at the pick-up end of the conveyor and elevate it to the discharge end of the'same, a rotatable shaftlocated at the pick-up end of said conveyor and pro-- jecting outwardly beyond opposite sides thereof,a plurality of digging elements carriedby said shaft at opposite ends thereof and adapted to impart forwardly-and upwardly directed impacts to the material, and a plurality ofpropeller blades carried bysaid shaft at opposite ends thereof, the digging elements being arranged in advance of the corresponding parts of said propellor blades in the planes of rotationof the diggingelements, the faces of thepropeller blades at one end of said shaft being oppositely inclined to the faces of the propeller blades at the other end of said shaft whereby the material acted upon by the digging elements is moved out of the path thereof and into the path of said conveyor buckets.

4. A machine'of the character described comprising a conveyor having buckets adapted to receive material at the pick-up end of the conveyor and elevate it"to the discharge end of the same, a rotatable shaft located at the pick-up end of'said conveyor and projecting outwardly beyond opposite sides thereof, a plurality of digging elements carried said shaft at opposite ends thereof and adapted to impartlforwardly and upwardly directed impacts to the material, and

a plurality of propeller blades carried at opposite ends of said shaft, said propeller blades being staggered with respect to said digging elements about said shaft and the faces of the propeller blades at one end of said shaftbeing oppositely inclined to the faces of the propeller blades at the other end of the shaft, whereby the material acted upon by the digging elements is moved out of the path thereof and into the path of said conveyor buckets. v

5. A machine of the character described comprising a conveyor having buckets adapt ed to dig and receive material at the pick-up end of the conveyor and elevate it to the discharge end of the same, a plurality of rotatable digging elements disposed at'opposite sides of said conveyor at the pick-up end 9 tliereof and adapted to impart forwardly and upwardly directed impacts to the material, and rotatable material-propelling means as- Inn.

sociated with said digging'elements at op.

.posite sides of said conveyor, the digging elebuckets,

m-ents being arranged in advance of the corresponding parts of the material-propelling means in the planes of rotation of the digging elements and extending radially a slight distance beyond said material-propelling means, the material-propelling means at one side of said conveyor being oppositely inclined to the material-propelling means at the opposite side of said conveyor whereby the material acted upon by the digging elements is moved out of the path thereof and into the path of'the conveyor buckets.

6. A machine of the character described comprising a conveyor having buckets adapted to dig and receive material at the pick-up end of the conveyor and elevate it to the discharge end of the same, a rotatable shaft located at the pick-up end of said conveyor and projecting outwardly beyond opposite sides thereof, a plurality of digging elements carried by said shaft at opposite ends of the said shaft and adapted to impart forwardly and upwardly directed impacts to the material, and a plurality of radially disposed proy peller blades carried by said shaft at opposite ends of said shaft, said propeller blades terminating inwardly of the outer ends of said digging elements and being disposed, respectively, at the rear of said digging elements in an angularly spaced relation there to and adapted to move the material acted uponby the digging elements out of the path thereof and into the path-of said conveyor 7. In a machine of the character described, a combined digging and feeding mechanism comprising a rotatable shaft, a plurality of propeller blades each having a hub portion, a plurality of picks each having a hub portion, and means for securing the hub portion of the respective propeller blades to the hub portion of the respective picks and for clamping such respective hub portions on said shaft.

In testimony whereof, I have afiiXed my signature to this specification.

RAYMOND o. HAISS. 

